The tiredness didn't leave, it wasn't, he didn't think, a thing of the body. He didn't feel heavy or worn out, just tired. Inside. Like he'd seen too much and it wasn't setting right, dragging him down. So far down.
Rolph was sent into a room alone with Maria and neither came out for hours. A few people smirked as if they were having sex, that being Trice mainly. She kept staring at him too, but didn't say why. It wasn't as glaring now, so that was an improvement. Now she just looked… considering or something. What she had to consider about him Tor didn't know at all. Probably that he better be working on her arm, time off or not.
Which was a good point.
When they came out both had obviously been crying and Rolph had been hit at least a couple of times, a nice bruise forming on the left side of his face. The Prince still had the truth device on and going. Tor was curious as to what was meant, but it wasn't his business, was it? As long as people stopped trying to kill him over it, that was enough. Hopefully this put the issue to bed and they could get on to ruining their lives in whole new ways, maybe with someone else catching most of the fall out next time?
Nah. Tor didn't like to lie to himself. This wasn't over. The wounds went too deep for too long.
After he'd gone in to how he'd made the flower arrangement for her, the one she threw in his face almost immediately, she hadn't bothered to even acknowledge that he'd done a good job. It was a little enough thing, but shouldn't someone have said something? Sorry? Oops? Good thing it wasn't a glass vase? Not brilliant things to mention, but saying nothing was worse, like announcing that he didn't matter at all.
He didn't, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to make him feel better about the whole thing. Yes, she'd apologized before, but it had been hollow and done to prevent a war and get him to help them, nothing more. She wouldn't have done it if not for that. Would she even really let go of things now? Could she? Tor hoped so. He really didn't need to keep revisiting all this stuff. It would be a relief when she left and he could just try to forget about her. They didn't have to be friends or anything silly like that.
For the next few days he didn't even try to leave his room. Just work. The King said there was a deadline, so what else could be done? He made of point of eating and drinking water and stretching daily while he did it, experience winning out over desire to get things done. He went running once early in the morning just as the sun rose, but didn't see many people. The rest of the time he just did what he did best, the only thing he did well at all practically.
Build.
Tor made a point of moving as close to not being aware of what he did as possible. It felt eerie and strange, he most often just sat down with a plan in mind and then came to holding the finished device or mass of copies. Time passed, but a lot less than he was used to. In three days he came up with thousands of amulets and several totally new devices. Luckily he'd already been working on this stuff or he wouldn't have gotten everything done by half. He'd had the plans ready to go. A few more he just didn’t have time for too. Like a Not-flyer that didn’t use hand controls and was guided by the mind. If that worked, he could try it with a flying device as well.
Then it was over suddenly, and he was supposed to stop. So he did. It felt wrong, like his body and mind were still moving, trying to capture something. Anything. At the same time he was still and solid inside. The feeling was like he was a stone in motion, only standing still…
It was night time when he finished, so he ate something in the kitchen, just some dark, slightly sour bread and soft white cheese he found in a cool box, hoping it wasn't someone’s private stash of food. It should be fine, he figured, because the room was positively loaded with supplies, enough for hundreds of people.
Then he went to bed, sleeping until midmorning, the sun coming through his window hit his eyes painfully. In a way he would have liked more sleep, and didn't really have anything to do, but that wasn't a reason to be lazy, was it? He had orders to relax and have fun, so he needed to get up and do it. Whatever that was. Fun? Kind of a vague set of orders.
Shaved, dressed in a light white outfit kind of like what they wore in Warden, except he had on a broad light yellow sash and soft white boots instead of sandals. In Ward the sashes all meant something. Red meant you were taken but friendly, married or something, but willing to dance and maybe do a bit more than just that. Green meant you were single and open minded, which was probably why every time he'd worn green down there guys had asked him to dance. Right. Well, there was no harm to it, none of them pressed him for more than that at least. Orange was rare and basically meant that a person wasn't announcing anything about themselves, so basically you were supposed to leave them alone, but then why go to a party if you felt like that? What yellow meant he didn't know for certain, but the people he'd seen wearing it always seemed to be having fun and have a lot of friends, so Tor had interpreted it as a party color. A person saying they wanted to have fun.
The dining room was big. The palace had bigger ones, but none really any grander. This looked like a jungle inside, complete with plants and blue sky. Not real of course, but it looked like a clearing in Ward, palm trees, big leafed plants of dark green and various other colors and sunny blue sky above. It was lovely. The floor had been made to look like slightly uneven dull gray stone, and the air wasn't humid, but it was a good approximation all told otherwise. As a plus there were no bugs in here.
There was one big table in it, with people sitting and eating casually. Some of the Warden people it looked like, women too, ones he didn't recognize immediately, so at least some of them had come from the palace. That was good, they'd probably be more at home with him and their other friends than the people at the palace, who would all be very proper with them, but still think of them as servants. Tor grinned at them and waved his hand a little to say hello. When they looked up everyone smiled, but didn't jump up or anything like that.
“Tor!” Called out a woman, easily in her forties, that he didn't really recognize.
“Come join us. We were just planning out our day. You want to be our native guide? Us ladies want to go shopping, but none of the guys are willing to stand around looking at things for hours. Maybe take in the main market and get in trouble? It'll be fun!” All the women nodded and the guys laughed, probably thinking that it would be boring, but Tor had never actually been to the big market square in the Capital at all, so it could be interesting. It was supposed to be incredible.
One of the younger men shook his head.
“Nah, we should all go sailing on their little river. They turned the magic one on yesterday, so the waters not bad even. I don't know where we rent boats, but someone has to have something. It's water.” Everyone just nodded in response. Obviously, in their world, if you had more than a puddle, you had a boat. Tor smiled.
Actually he did. A lot of them.
“That is not a problem at all, you can just borrow one of mine.” They were new, based on a design he'd seen in a book back in Printer, about the size of one of the fishing boats, but sleeker looking, and decorated with bright colors that would glow at night. The crew could even change them at will. Whoever was driving at least.
He grabbed a bowl of oatmeal and a slice of bread that smelled fresh, so early bread, made that day. Feeling a little guilty about it, he put a half spoon of honey on the top and spread it around with the light tan focus stone paddle. It was a waste he knew, adding sweetener to the meal, but he did have orders to have fun from the King, and apparently the whole Council of Counts. Did that count? Eating sweet foods was supposed to be fun, right?
Tor didn't stand on ceremony, just placing his bowl and small plate next to the woman that had been speaking first. The woman next to her scooted out a bit to make room. Someone got him a chair and some fruit juice to go with his meal.